Did You Know...

The court-martial of Muslim soldier Hasan Akbar, the Army sergeant charged in a deadly grenade attack in Kuwait that killed two American soliders, is not getting nearly enough attention as it should. Today, an FBI agent read passages from Akbar’s diary:

In the entry dated Feb. 4, 2003, Akbar referred to mistreatment by his fellow soldiers:

“I suppose they want to punk me or just humiliate me. Perhaps they feel that I will not do anything about that. They are right about that. I am not going to do anything about it as long as I stay here. But as soon as I am in Iraq, I am going to try and kill as many of them as possible.“

Another entry said: “I will have to decide to kill my Muslim brothers fighting for Saddam Hussein or my battle buddies. I am hoping to get into a position so I don’t have to take any crap from anyone anymore.”

Elsewhere, he wrote: “I may not have killed any Muslims, but being in the Army is the same thing. I may have to make a choice very soon on who to kill.”

The entries were found on a computer Akbar had put in a rented storage unit near Fort Campbell in Kentucky before he was sent off to the Middle East with fellow members of the 101st Airborne Division.

Akbar’s conflicting loyalties–to Islam and to his country–deserve far greater scrutiny. But it’s a political third rail few will touch. Can’t blame them.